The present invention relates to shoes.
Shoes which are fastened with laces enjoy widespread popularity. Most athletic shoes and many men's, children's and casual women's shoes are fastened in this manner.
Laces allow the width of the shoe to be adjustable, to provide comfort and allow different types of socks to be worn with the shoe. However, laces may prove difficult or time-consuming to tie, particularly for children. Lace-up shoes may also be difficult to get onto the wearer's foot, especially when one is in a rush for time, requiring loosening of the laces and maneuvering of the tongue. Lace-up shoes can thus be extremely difficult for smaller children to put on, even with assistance.
To address these disadvantages, some casual and athletic shoes have straps provided with hook and loop (VELCRO.TM.) fasteners instead of laces. This type of shoe alleviates some of the above problems, but still can be difficult to put on, particularly for a small child.